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NEW YORK (AP) Trainer Doug O’Neill is taking an unconventional path to a Triple Crown bid by using a series of strong gallops rather than formal workouts to prepare I’ll Have Another for the Belmont Stakes on June 9.

“There will be a lot of days when I’ll Have Another, strictly galloping, will pass a lot of workers,” O’Neill said Sunday morning after taking a red-eye flight from his West Coast base and being reunited with his Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner.

The last three Triple Crown champions, Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978), all drilled at least one mile in preparation for the 1½-mile “Test of the Champion.” The Belmont is the longest of the Triple Crown races.

O’Neill said his plan has everything to do with the vigor the colt brings to his daily morning regimen.

“If anyone got a chance to see him, he stretches and puts a lot of effort into his morning gallops,” he said.

I’ll Have Another was shipped to Belmont Park the morning after little-known jockey Mario Gutierrez, 25, ran down Bodemeister by a neck in the Preakness on May 19. His trainer was encouraged by everything he observed.

“His appetite is strong, his stride is great and his coat is there,” he said.

O’Neill added, “We have all the confidence in the world in I’ll Have Another. As long as he stays healthy and injury-free, we think he’ll be very tough.”

His pre-race handling of the colt is likely to spark discussion and debate. Seattle Slew, for instance, was given three workouts to fortify him for the Belmont marathon. He went three furlongs in a sizzling 354⁄5 seconds the day before he beat Run Dusty Run by four lengths.

I’ll Have Another appears to be well-prepared for the challenge ahead from a freshness standpoint. Shin problems sidelined him after he ran sixth in the Hopeful last Sept. 5, ending his 2-year-old season with three starts. He was the fifth consecutive Derby winner to compete in two prep races, pulling an upset at 43-1 in the Robert Lewis on Feb. 4 before edging Creative Cause by a nose in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7.

CALIFORNIA (AP) — Despite vigorously denying he gave one of his horses an illegal performance-enhancing mixture, trainer Doug O’Neill was suspended 45 days — a ban that won’t take effect until after his superstar colt, I’ll Have Another, tries to win the Triple Crown.

After a nearly two-year legal battle, California racing officials agreed with O’Neill but still found fault because of a rule that says trainers are ultimately responsible for horses in their care.

The ruling Thursday doesn’t prevent O’Neill from saddling his Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.

The suspension and $15,000 fine — which O’Neill can appeal — come in the final weeks of I’ll Have Another’s attempt to become horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed 34 years ago. The colt trained by O’Neill won the Derby on May 5 and took the Preakness on Saturday.

“I plan on examining and reviewing all of my options following the Belmont Stakes, but right now I plan on staying focused on preparing for and winning the Triple Crown,” O’Neill said in a statement.

The seven-member California Horse Racing Board met in closed session Thursday at Betfair Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., to consider the recommended decision of a hearing officer in O’Neill’s case. The board agreed with the officer’s recommendations on the punishment for O’Neill, who turned 44 on Thursday.

While elevated carbon dioxide is associated with “milkshaking,” the officer agreed with O’Neill that his horse Argenta had not been fed a mixture of bicarbonate of soda, sugar and electrolytes that enhances performance and combats fatigue. The officer did not indicate what might have caused the overage.

“I’m gratified that the CHRB found that I did not “milkshake” a horse or engage in any intentional conduct that would result in an elevated TC02 level,” O’Neill said.

The penalty comes at a time when racing is under heavy scrutiny for the way horses are prepared for their races.

O’Neill said he spent $250,000 defending himself.

“I know I didn’t milkshake a horse. None of us around the barn milkshaked any horses,” O’Neill said Wednesday. “You got to have rules and I respect rules, but when you get faulty science involved, it costs a lot of money unfortunately, but you’ve got to fight it and that’s what we’re doing.”

O’Neill ran into trouble after Argenta tested in excess of the permitted level of TCO2 — a Class 3 violation — after finishing
eighth in a race at Del Mar on Aug. 25, 2010. The horse is co-owned by Mark Verge, the CEO of Santa Anita race track and O’Neill’s childhood friend.

But the hearing officer, who could have recommended up to a 180-day suspension, advised that 135 days be stayed as long as O’Neill doesn’t have any Class 1, 2 or 3 medication violations in any state during an 18-month period.

It was O’Neill’s third total carbon dioxide violation in California and fourth in his career. In 2010, he was suspended and
fined for a similar offense involving one of his horses that ran in the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Race Course in suburban Chicago.

The officer found there were no suspicious betting patterns in the 2010 race and that there was no evidence of any intentional acts on the part of O’Neill in connection with the incident.

However before the hearing, the parties had stipulated that the Ken Maddy Laboratory at UC Davis detected an excess level of TCO2 in the horse’s blood sample, and CHRB Rule 1887 states a trainer is ultimately responsible for the condition of a horse, so O’Neill was punished.

CHRB executive director Kirk Breed will decide when O’Neill’s suspension will begin, but it will be no sooner than July 1.

The Jockey Club has said that elevated total carbon dioxide levels, regardless of cause, are violations of the rules and
penalties for excessive TCO2 are severe. It urges trainers and their veterinarians to work closely to identify any procedure or practices that may elevate such levels in horses.

STONY BROOK, N.Y. (AP) — Taylor Thornton scored twice, including the game-winning goal with 16:19 remaining and second-seeded Northwestern advanced to another women’s lacrosse national championship game with a 9-7 victory over No. 3 Maryland on Friday night.

Shannon Smith took just one shot on goal, but collected four assists in the victory. She set up goals by Alex Frank, Jessica Russo, Kara Mupo and Lacey Vigmostad.

Erin Fitzgerald and Amanda Macaluso also scored for Northwestern (20-2), which will face fourth-seeded Syracuse on Sunday for its seventh title in eight years. The Orange advanced with a 14-13, double-overtime victory over top-seeded Florida in the first semifinal.

Katie Schwarzmann scored three goals for Maryland (19-4), which lost to the Wildcats in last season’s championship game. Last year, the Terrapins opened a three-goal lead on the Wildcats, and they even held a two-goal margin early in the second half before folding.

Kristy Black, Karri Ellen Johnson, Kelly McPartland and Brooke Griffin also scored for Maryland, which had won eight straight games by scoring at least 12 goals.

Last year’s game also was decided by virtually the same score, though this year, the winner came much sooner than with 4½ minutes remaining. Thornton made it 8-6 by getting past a defender and going up the middle to beat Maryland goaltender Brittany Dipper for her 31st tally of the season.

The Terrapins overcame a one-goal deficit midway through the first half and took a 5-4 lead into halftime on Johnson’s 54th goal of the season. Schwarzmann gave the Terrapins a two-goal lead less than three minutes into the second half, but Northwestern tied it on goals by Kara Mupo and Amanda Macaluso 49 seconds apart.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas criticized the behavior of a few of his peers Wednesday, saying the actions of a few recent Kentucky Derby winners have tarnished the reputation of his profession.

Speaking at Pimlico Race Course, site of Saturday’s Preakness, Lukas said, “I’m very disappointed as a trainer that we have the stigma of some of our Derby winners not carrying the banner.”

He cited Rick Dutrow, who is appealing a 10-year suspension in New York for multiple medication violations, and Chip Woolley, who last year allegedly urinated on slot machines at a track in Iowa.

Lukas also mentioned I’ll Have Another trainer Doug O’Neill, who won the Derby on May 5 but faces charges of drugging a horse in California. O’Neill has denied the accusation.

“We’ve got Dutrow under suspension. We’ve got Chip Woolley (urinating) on the slot machines in casinos. And now Doug, at least, has some gray area hanging over him,” said Lukas, who will saddle Optimizer in the Preakness.

“That bothers me, frankly. I think those guys are all good enough they don’t need for there to be doubts. I think they can
train horses and not have that problem in front of them. They can do it the right way. That’s just the way I feel. I would say that if they were standing right here.”

Dutrow’s Big Brown won the Derby and Preakness in 2008. He sends out long shot Zetterholm in the Preakness.

Woolley in 2009 trained long shot Derby winner Mine That Bird, who ran second in the Preakness. Last year, security staff escorted Woolley from the casino at Prairie Meadows Racetrack.

O’Neill, meanwhile, has been accused by the California Horse Racing Board for “milkshaking,” the illegal practice of giving a horse a blend of bicarbonate of soda, sugar and electrolytes. The mixture is designed to reduce fatigue and enhance performance.

“We played by the rules and I am vigorously fighting the previous allegations,” O’Neill said Wednesday.

O’Neill faces his third total carbon dioxide violation in California and fourth in a career that has spanned 25 years.

O’Neill’s most recent violation dates from an Aug. 25, 2010, race at Del Mar in California. A blood test on his horse Argenta showed elevated levels of TCO2 before it finished eighth.

He faces penalties ranging from a minimum 90-day suspension and a $5,000 fine to a maximum 180-day suspension and fine of $15,000 depending on whether a hearing officer’s report finds aggravating circumstances or not.

“I’ll Have Another, along with every other horse in our barn goes through an intense physical exam and a blood and urine exam,” O’Neill said. “We run pure horses. We run a great operation, and anyone who comes to our barn all know that we love the horses and do everything we can to keep them at the top of their game. If I didn’t win the Derby, you guys wouldn’t be asking that.”

BALTIMORE (AP) — The new team behind the Grand Prix of Baltimore hopes to avoid previous promoters’ mistakes and build on the event’s success with fans as they dash toward a Labor Day finish line.

“Time is a big challenge,” said J.P. Grant of Race On LLC said Wednesday, after the city approved a five-year contract with the group just three-and-a-half months before the first race cars pull on to the downtown street course. “We’re running quickly, but efficiently.”

The approval clears the way for the group to begin selling tickets May 28 and signing deals with sponsors, said Grant, who will manage Race On with fellow Baltimore-area businessman Greg O’Neill. American Le Mans and IZOD IndyCar, the two headlining series from last year, plan to return Labor Day weekend.

Race On is working on a compressed timeline, but they’re hoping to learn from mistakes made with the inaugural event and deliver on their own promises. To help make that happen, Race On has hired Andretti Sports Marketing, led by retired racer Michael Andretti, to handle operations, sales, marketing and logistics.

The group has helped bring back struggling race events in Toronto, Milwaukee and St. Petersburg, Fla. and Baltimore’s event has potential, Andretti said. The former racer and IndyCar team owner attended the race weekend last year and said the idea that it might not return this year was “unacceptable.”

“It was an incredible success from the outside looking in,” Andretti said. “We’ve done a lot of research and we feel that this race could be — the — street event in the world.”

Last year’s event drew about 160,000 spectators over three days to a 2-mile course on city streets and a study found that the event generated a $47 million economic impact for the region. To a fan in the stands or watching at home, the event last year looked like a success.

“The problem was the company behind it,” said City Councilman William Cole, a top booster of the event that takes place in his district. “They struggled mightily.”

Promoter Baltimore Racing Development failed to make good on millions of dollars in debt to the city, state and vendors and the city eventually dropped the group’s five-year contract. The city, which was owed $1.5 million, expects the state comptroller’s office to collect $600,000 in taxes and it could pursue another $700,000 in fees still owed, according a spokesman for the mayor.

The city dropped a second contract with Downforce Racing LLC when that group missed deadlines and announced a deal with Race On last week.

As the city’s Board of Estimates approved the Race On contract Wednesday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake noted that the new agreement includes safeguards for the city, including upfront payments for city services and guaranteed payments of admissions and amusement taxes.

Race On has the financial backing to ensure that everyone gets paid, Cole said.

“This is a different model,” he said. “It’s more sustainable.”

The biggest challenge is the short time before race day, but they will also have to be realistic about sponsorships in the first year, Andretti said. They’ll take care to avoid BRD’s mistakes, but last year’s event did demonstrate that it could be done.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Michael Andretti could soon be part of a new team that will run Baltimore’s troubled Grand Prix auto race, city officials announced Thursday.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced a proposed five-year agreement on Thursday with Race On, LLC, and Andretti Sports Marketing. It would be the third group to lead the Labor Day weekend event on a course that winds through the streets of downtown Baltimore.

A study found that the inaugural Grand Prix last year generated $47 million in economic impact. However, the city terminated its contract with Baltimore Racing Development after that group failed to pay $1.5 million owed to the city. In February, the city approved a contract with Downforce Racing LLC, but a new operator was sought after Downforce missed marketing deadlines for the event.

“The Grand Prix was a great event for Baltimore that boosted our local economy and showcased our city on the international stage,” Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. “This has been a difficult process, but Race On and Andretti Sports Marketing have what it takes to move forward and make this world-class sporting event successful for Baltimore.”

Andretti Sports Marketing, led by the retired driver and team owner, will provide a “turn-key” solution, including
sponsorships, public relations, marketing, hospitality, ticket sales, track construction, grandstand layout, and logistics, city officials said.

Andretti said his company has a history of resurrecting races in cities such as Toronto, Milwaukee and St. Petersburg, Fla.

“So, we are confident we can do the same for the Grand Prix of Baltimore,” Andretti said. “By combining our decades of
motorsports expertise with the substantial backing of local investors and community support, we believe the Grand Prix of Baltimore can become one of the most prominent sporting events on the Eastern Seaboard.”

The city’s Board of Estimates is scheduled to vote on the contract on Wednesday.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Sophomore Alyssa Thomas of the Maryland women’s basketball team is one of five players named to the Associated Press All-America First Team announced Tuesday.

Thomas, the 2012 ACC Player of the Year, is joined on the First Team by Baylor’s Brittney Griner, Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins, Stanford’s Nneka Ogwumike and Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne.

Thomas is the Terrapins’ fourth AP All-American. Crystal Langhorne (2006, 2007, 2008),Kristi Toliver (2008, 2009) and Marissa Coleman (2009) all earned the honor at least once in their respective careers. Langhorne was also honored as a sophomore when she was named to the Second Team in 2006.

Thomas leads the ACC in scoring with 17.2 points per game and is among the best in the league with 8.0 rebounds per game, assists (3.2), free throw percentage (80.1) and defensive rebounds (5.5).

Thomas is just the second underclassman ever to be named ACC Player of the Year. She scored a career-high 29 points in the ACC title game to lead Maryland to its 10th league championship. She was named Tournament MVP and is only the seventh player, and first underclassman, to be named league Player of the Year and Tournament MVP in the same season.

Behind two comebacks and a 21-4 run to end the game, Maryland rallied past Texas A&M 81-74 on Sunday in the Regional Semifinals. The Terps advanced to their fourth Elite Eight under head coach Brenda Frese.

Laurin Mincy had 21 points and for her career-high 12 rebounds for her first career double-double. Thomas added 21 points and nine rebounds for the second-seeded Terrapins. They trailed by 18 points in the first half and by 12 in the second half, but Maryland fought its way back and held the defending national champion Aggies to just one basket in the final 10 minutes.

The Terrapins had won 10 straight and 13 of 14 since Jan. 26. The Terrapins are 31-18 (.633) all-time in NCAA Tournament games. Frese owns an NCAA Tournament record of 20-7 (.741) and 19-6 (.760) at Maryland. Frese has led the Terps to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, four Elite Eights and the 2006 national championship.

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. (AP) — Bert Sugar, an iconic boxing writer and sports historian who was known for his trademark fedora and ever-present cigar, died Sunday of cardiac arrest. He was 75.

Jennifer Frawley, Sugar’s daughter, said his wife, Suzanne, was by his side when he died at Northern Westchester Hospital. Sugar also had been battling lung cancer.

“Just his intelligence and his wit and his sense of humor,” Frawley said when asked what she will remember about her father. “He was always worried about people. He was always helping people.”

Sugar was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005. According to the hall’s website, Sugar wrote more than 80 books, including “The 100 Greatest Boxers Of All Time.” He also appeared in a handful of films, including “The Great White Hype” starring Samuel Jackson.

“Around ringside, it’s not going to be the same with Bert not there,” said Jack Hirsch, the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Sugar was born in Washington, D.C., in 1936. He graduated from Maryland and went to law school at Michigan. He passed the bar in his hometown and worked in advertising in New York City before he got into writing in the 1970s.

“Bert was obviously a showman in the way he did things outwardly, very flamboyant, but in quiet moments I found him to be an extremely modest individual,” Hirsch said.

Frawley said arrangements for a memorial service are still pending and anyone wishing to honor Sugar should make a donation to the boxing hall.

AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. (AP) — Claressa Shields screamed, sidestepped and finally hopped around the ring, unable to contain her glee when she was named the outstanding fighter at the first U.S. Olympic team trials for women’s boxing.

Queen Underwood and Marlen Esparza could only chuckle and cheer for their irrepressible 16-year-old teammate. All three fighters made a bit of history Saturday night, and they’re on a path toward even bigger landmarks in London.

Esparza, Underwood and Shields won their respective weight classes with unbeaten runs through the trials, advancing to the world championships for a chance to fight at the Olympics.

“They’re going to have to say Claressa Shields, No. 1,” said Shields, the breakout star of the trials after charging through the middleweight division.

Esparza captured the flyweight title with a 32-17 victory over Tyrieshia Douglas, and Underwood beat Mikaela Mayer 22-19 to win the lightweight division. Shields ended the trials with a 23-18 victory over Tika Hemingway at the Pend Oreille Pavilion in the Northern Quest resort-casino just outside Spokane.

“I’ve been waiting for this day forever,” Esparza said. “This is where all that hard work pays off.”

While Esparza and Underwood posted decisive victories, Shields sweated through a difficult bout after powering past her first three opponents in the first U.S. team trials since women’s boxing was added to the Olympic program nearly three years ago.

The three Americans still must finish in the top eight in their weight classes at the world championships in China in May to earn a spot in the first Olympic women’s boxing tournament. The winners weren’t thinking that far ahead while they posed for the first of innumerable photo sessions and public events over the next three months — along with plenty of training together in Colorado Springs.

“It hurts. I’m happy. All in one,” Underwood said. “I’ve been national champion since 2007 and waiting for this opportunity, and it’s finally here, and it’s over at once, but it feels great.”

The 27-year-old Underwood finished the tournament with her best performance, a fitting cap to a resilient week for the best-known American boxer. Underwood is a five-time national champion who put her life on hold to pursue her sport, working construction to pay bills during periods when she wasn’t immersed in 12-hour training sessions.

The sellout crowd was behind the Seattle native, stomping on the floor and chanting “Queen! Queen! Queen!” while Underwood took apart Mayer with brutally effective shots from all angles. The final margin was smaller than expected, but Underwood had little doubt, raising one finger in anticipation of the verdict.

Even with extensive international experience, Underwood acknowledged a huge case of jitters all week. Dozens of family and friends traveled across the state from Seattle and Underwood worried she had let them down on Thursday before she barely escaped with a 25-24 win over 19-year-old N’yteeyah Sherman.

“I don’t believe in losing,” Underwood said. “I don’t want to lose, ever. I knew I had the opportunity to come back tomorrow if things didn’t go right, but that wasn’t in my rulebook. My rulebook is coming out with a win all days. I came here planning to have four fights, and I fought exactly the way I thought.”

Shields’ final victory was the culmination of a breakthrough week for the high school junior from Flint, Mich., who has skyrocketed through the sport in the past year since becoming old enough to compete at amateur boxing’s highest levels.

Shields beat Hemingway on Thursday night in a bout that left both boxers complaining about the score. Hemingway started furiously in their rematch, stalking Shields into the corners to unload long barrages of punches.

Shields fought back with equal vigor, but Hemingway twice knocked out Shields’ mouthpiece, forcing the referee to take a point from Shields in the second round. Hemingway backed Shields against the ropes for a long stretch of the fourth round, mauling and shoving amid the punches — but Shields patiently waited for openings for her ferocious counterpunches, scoring enough points to win.

“I feel like I did way better the first fight,” Shields said. “I still got tired, letting her wrestle me, but it felt good when it was over.”

Esparza is a 22-year-old from Houston with six national championships in two weight classes. She moved up in weight two years ago to meet the 112-pound Olympic flyweight standard, but the change hasn’t stopped her relentless roll toward London.

Thanks to an opening-round walkover, the top-seeded Esparza had to fight just three times to win the trials, while the title bout was the second-seeded Douglas’ sixth fight in six days.

Esparza stuck to a meticulous game plan, allowing the aggressive Douglas to tire in each round before picking apart her defense with well-timed shots. Esparza, who fights with an American flag do-rag underneath her headgear, raised one glove in victory after the final bell.

“She tries to knock you out or something in the first part of every round,” Esparza said. “She really does scare me, because she’s intimidating and she looks fearless, but I’ve watched her over and over, and the first 30 seconds of every round are like the best 30 seconds of your life, but she gets tired.”

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) Following two days of delays, the defense rested in the University of Virginia Lacrosse murder trial without defendant George Huguely V taking the stand on his own behalf.

A neurosurgeon testified Saturday that he saw little brain injury in Yeardley Love whom prosecutors said Huguely fatally bashed her head against a wall.

Dr. Ronald H. Uscinski testified for the defense in the trial. Huguely is charged with first-degree murder in the May 3, 2010, death of YeardleyLove, who was a member of the U.Va. women’s lacrosse team and is ex-girlfriend.

Huguely waived his right to testify before the trial broke for lunch. Jurors had already heard his account of Love’s death in a police interrogation video played during the trial.

By Saturday afternoon, defense attorneys had rested their case after presenting fewer than 10 witnesses over several days. The prosecution had presented about 50.

Circuit Judge George Hogshire read jurors instructions, which said they could also find Huguely guilty of involuntary manslaughter or voluntary manslaughter instead of murder. Both charges would carry lighter sentences than a murder conviction.

Closing arguments were also scheduled for Saturday afternoon, with jurors possibly getting the case later in the day.

Uscinki’s testimony was limited by Circuit Judge George Hogshire because of an email exchange involving Uscinski during the trial that had the potential to influence his testimony. The prosecution said they also would seek to strike previous defense medical testimony.

The medical testimony is critical because there is no disagreement that the 24-year-old Huguely of Chevy Chase, Md., was in Love’s apartment the night she died, or that their encounter became physical. At issue is how she died from what the medical examiner has ruled was blunt-force trauma.

The prosecution argues that Huguely banged Love’s head against her bedroom wall, bruising her brain and causing bleeding near the brain stem, while the defense contends Love suffocated with her face buried in her own blood-dampened pillow.

Love, who was 22 and from suburban Baltimore, was found with a battered right eye and injuries around and in her mouth and on her neck.

Asked by one of Huguely’s defense attorneys, Rhonda Quagliana, what he concluded after he viewed Love’s brain, Uscinski replied: “That there may have been head trauma … but there’s not of lot of significant brain trauma.”

Huguely’s defense has said it can complete its presentation Saturday. But the jury was kept out of the courtroom after prosecutor Dave Chapman presented a series of emails between Uscinski and a member of Huguely’s defense team that involved the testimony of another medical expert scheduled to testify for the defense.

Chapman sought to keep Uscinski from testifying and to have jurors disregard the testimony of the defense witness who said Love smothered in her pillow.

While Hogshire said Uscinski was likely “influenced by these emails,” he allowed him to testify but limited the extent of his testimony.

The defense hopes to finish its presentation Saturday.

Huguely and Love shared a tempestuous relationship, according to witnesses, marked by arguments, jealousy and infidelities.

Prosecutors have said Huguely went to Love’s apartment after a day of golf and heavy drinking, kicked in her bedroom door and repeatedly banged her head against a wall, leaving her to die.

Huguely, who has pleaded not guilty, told police that he had gone to her apartment to talk the night of her death. But he said the encounter quickly turned physical after she “freaked out” and began hitting her own head against the wall of her bedroom.

Hogshire has said the trial is unlikely to be conducted Sunday or Monday, which is Presidents’ Day, and grand jurors meet in the courthouse on Tuesday. Jurors, who are not sequestered, presumably could return on Wednesday.